The Meaning of Rue
by klepto-maniac0
Summary: Rue finds another relic to help him accomplish his long sought after dream, but he finds something he does not expect. What will he do? You decide!
1. Choices, Choices

The Meaning of Rue

I own few things. If I owned Threads of Fate, I'd own a lot more.

= = = = =

Rue stepped into the cave, looking warily around. So far the dungeon had been free of monsters, but he could not afford to let down his guard. True, five years had passed since his fight for Valen's {relic}, and he had gotten a lot stronger, but still...

The {relic} he was hunting for now was one called Askaram's {relic}- Klaus had found some information on it five years ago, and had called Rue back to Carona as soon as he had gotten it. The information had been very sketchy, but by following what few leads Klaus had had, and by diligently searching for five long years, Rue had finally found the entrance to the lair in which Askaram's {relic} had been hidden.

"Soon, Claire, soon..." he had whispered to himself and to the spirit sleeping within him, saying the words like a prayer. The {relic} was close, he could almost touch it...

But first he had to find it.

The cave Rue had stepped into was one of the strangest he had ever seen. It was like an upturned bowl, perfectly smooth on the inside with no cracks or visible imperfections that Rue could see. The bowl was made of some dark, opaque stone that seemed to suck in all of the light around it- and despite that, Rue could still see everything in the room as clearly as though it were day. Not that there was much to see-there was nothing but a glassy black obelisk in the middle of the room with three concentric circles of inlaid gold surrounding the floor around it. Rue stepped forward cautiously. Supposedly, inside that obelisk was the {relic} he had been looking for these past five years...

He stepped forward, his footsteps echoing loudly off the floor and ringing against the unnaturally smooth walls of the black glass cave. He came closer and closer-still nothing attacked. Finally he stood in front of the obelisk. It was tall, standing ten feet high before tapering to a four- sided point at its very top. The glassy black surface was dark and dim.

_"Maybe this is the {relic}?" _Rue wondered. He reached forward cautiously and placed a hand against the dark stone. It gave underneath his palm, covering his hand in cool blackness. Rue jerked his hand free; slow ripples flowed across the black obelisk as it moved over the space his hand had left behind, and eventually the obelisk became still. Rue looked at his hand; there didn't seem to be anything wrong with it. Cautiously, he pressed against the stone again. The obelisk welcomed him coolly, doing nothing as he stepped forward, eventually pushing his entire arm into the obelisk's cool black depths.

_ "Funny. It feels like my arm's in water..."_ Rue mused as he moved his arm around, feeling around for anything that could even vaguely be a {relic}. He jumped when his fingertips brushed against something warm in the coldness. _"Is that it?"_

He pressed against the warmness and felt it give slightly; feeling up, his hand pressed against uneven contours of more warmness, eventually moving up a slender column, and then a strange, irregular surface.  
_"What is this thing?"_ He wondered. Then, _"Is it the {relic}? Maybe I should pull it out..."_

He was loathe to let go of his sword, so he felt around in the obelisk's cool blackness until he found a part of the warm thing that he could grab easily with one hand. Stepping backwards, he slowly pulled the thing out of the obelisk. The obelisk offered no resistance, sliding off his arm without a trace.

Rue's hand appeared; a flesh-colored column was within his grasp. As he pulled a bit more, a chin, and then a face appeared out of the blackness. He gasped, the sound echoing so loudly in the still chamber that it sounded as though all the air in the world had rushed into Rue's lungs.

_ "It's a woman!"_ He realized in shock, and hurriedly he took a more careful grip on her, pulling her more gently from the black obelisk with both arms instead of just one hand. He was so intent on pulling her out carefully that he didn't notice how the black obelisk folded and then collapsed, forming a heavy silken dress and a long black veil that covered the woman's entire body. The only part of her that Rue could see was the woman's face. Ethereally pale, her features were the pinnacle of perfection. Long, thick black eyelashes graced her face like a pair of dark wings. Her nose was perfectly straight, leading down to full, sensual lips that were almost a blood red against the ivory skin of her face. Rue gazed at her, wondering who she was.

Her eyes suddenly snapped open.

"YAAAHHHH!" Rue yelled in shock and dropped her, his heart hammering violently in his chest. Had it been possible, his hair would have turned even whiter than it already was. The woman rose gracefully to her feet, regarding Rue with new-gold eyes that seemed to focus on him like the lenses of a machine.

"Who are you," she asked in a low voice that rolled around the cavern like soft thunder, "to interrupt my long sleep?"

Rue gathered his composure and got to his feet. The woman was very tall, forcing Rue to bend his head nearly all the way back to speak to her. He said, "I'm Rue. Are you the {relic}?"

A faint smile of amusement quirked one side of the woman's full lips. "Am I the {relic}?" She mused softly. "In a manner of speaking." He voice became louder as she declared, "I am what remains of the Aeon Askaram-and I am the {relic} called Timshel."

Rue's spirits soared. Here was the {relic} he had sought for so long! But..."How can you be an Aeon and a {relic} at the same time?" He asked, puzzled.

"I am what remains of Askaram." She corrected gently. "The small bit of her soul that stayed behind to watch over Timshel, her greatest creation." She touched her chest, closing her eyes. "The making of it cost her life. In its own way, it is as powerful as Valen's Dewprism."

"I thought nothing was more powerful than the Dewprism." Rue said, frowning.

She looked at him, tilting her head. Her black veil shimmered in a light that did not exist. "You're not quite...human, are you?"

Askaram reached forward with one pale, elegant hand and swept off Rue's hat with one flick of her hand. Rue tensed, gripping his sword.

"A doll of Valen." She murmured, gazing at the blue stone on his forehead. It still sparkled brightly despite the Dewprism's destruction. "You've survived this long-but then again, Valen never did anything in halves."

She handed his hat back to him, making Rue ask suspiciously, "You're not going to attack me?"

"What's the point?" She asked. "As I said, Valen did nothing in halves. There is no doubt in my mind that you could destroy me if you so chose."

Privately Rue felt that he would never be able to destroy such a beautiful woman.

"But you're not here to destroy me, I think." She said, tilting her head. Her amber eyes, Rue noticed, glowed softly with their own slight. "Otherwise you would have shattered the obelisk with that great sword of yours."

Rue glanced at his sword, and then back at Askaram. "You're right," he said. "I'm not here to destroy you. I'm here to, um..." He paused, not knowing how to phrase his next few words. "Uh...use...the {relic}."

Askaram looked at him, amused. "Use me?"

That didn't sound right. Rue rubbed the back of his head, uncertain as to what to say.

"Interesting." Askaram sat down, reclining in a chair that Rue couldn't remember seeing-had it just appeared? "Why would a doll want to use my powers?" She motioned at him. "Please, Rue, sit."

Rue looked around and was surprised so see that a small black chair had suddenly appeared out of the air behind him. He sat down and nearly jumped out of his skin when the material of the chair shifted subtly, shaping itself to an almost embarrassing familiarity. He squirmed, uncomfortable, and the chair became slightly more normal. Askaram regarded him coolly, although the amused smile had reappeared on her lips.

"Why did you come after me?" She asked, looking steadily at him.

Rue hesitated a moment. "It's, um..." He looked down at the floor. He had never expected to actually talk to an Aeon. "I..." He looked up. "I want to bring Claire back to life."

"Ah." Askaram nodded. "Resurrection. I see. And why do you want to bring her back to life?"

Rue tried to explain. "She died-when she shouldn't have. Doll Master killed her when she tried to...help me..." He looked down at the floor, shame burning in his chest.

"You feel like it's your fault." Askaram said knowingly.

"Yes." Rue closed his eyes, biting his lip.

"You want to set things right."

"Yes."

There was a long silence. When Rue opened his eyes and glanced up, Askaram was leaning back in her chair, looking thoughtful.

"Let me ask you a question, Rue." Askaram said, tilting her head. "What would you do to bring this Claire back?"

What would he do...? What hadn't he already done? He had traveled the world, all the oceans, gone to the highest mountains and the deepest caves...

"And once you did bring her back, what would you do?" Askaram asked, regarding him evenly. "Go back to the life you once had, pretending like nothing was wrong?"

Rue hadn't thought that far. "I guess." He said, shrugging.

"And another thing, Rue." Askaram lowered her head slightly, looking squarely into his eyes. "You're a doll. You don't age. She will."

"I don't care." Rue said shortly. Did Askaram think he was really that shallow? He hadn't gone through ten types of hells just to turn back at Claire's first wrinkle, whenever it came.

Askaram didn't seem to hear him. "In fact, Rue, since you're a doll, you won't die. Not naturally, anyway."

Rue frowned, confused. "What does that-"

"Suppose you do use my power to bring Claire back." Askaram said, looking at him piercingly. "Suppose you do go back to the life you once had. You won't live happily ever after, you know-because Claire is human, and she will die in the course of time."

Rue's heart stopped beating, and all his blood seemed to turn to ice.

"You have, what-fifty, sixty, seventy more years together?" Askaram asked softly. "And that's if a monster or an illness don't carry her off. And then you have the rest of eternity to spend alone."

Rue shut his eyes, clenching his fists so tightly that his gloves creaked. That future hadn't occurred to him either. For the first time, Rue realized that he actually had a very little idea of what he was doing.

"Of course..." Askaram tilted her heal, making her veil rustle. "I could make you alive."

Rue's head snapped up, his eyes opening in an instant.

"You could grow up and age like every human on the planet...like every living thing." Askaram mused, her golden eyes going slightly out of focus as she gazed off into the distance. Rue suddenly became aware of how lonely she must have been- years and years had gone by, and all of her peers were dead except for her. She had to know what it was like to live alone, and how welcome death would be for her, if it ever came.

"But if I do that, Rue-" She turned to look at Rue, her golden eyes refocusing. "That's all I'll be able to do."

"You won't be able to bring Claire back?"

Askaram shook her head.

Rue bowed his head, shutting his eyes. Either him or Claire...

He sat bolt upright and looked straight into Askaram's golden eyes. "If I got another {relic} could I-"

"No." Askaram cut him off. "My {relic}, Timshel, and Valen's Dewprism are the only {relics} that have the capacity to bring people back to life, and to turn what is inanimate into what is real. In that way," Askaram smiled, "Timshel is as strong as Dewprism."

Rue couldn't appreciate the finer points of the {relic}. "So either Claire comes back to life...and I watch her die..."

"Yes."

"Or I become human...and lose Claire forever."

"Yes."

Weight seemed to press down on him, crushing the inside of his chest. Rue clutched his head in his hands, pressing his forehead against his knees. He couldn't...a choice like that...

What was he supposed to do?

* * *

A/N: Now for an extra-special something: like in the actual game, you choose the outcome! Quick-the happy ending, or the sad one? Rue's fate and his happiness are in your hands...


	2. The Happy Ending

The Meaning of Rue

- - - - -

I own few things. If I owned Threads of Fate, I'd own a lot more.

- - - - -

The happy ending

- - - - -

A small part of his mind whispered, "What is there to choose? What have you been working for all this time?"  
Rue let go of his head slowly and dropped his hands, sitting up straight. Askaram looked at him steadily.

"Have you made a choice?" She asked.

Rue nodded and stood up. "Bring Claire back to life."

Askaram frowned slightly. "Are you sure? You know you'll-"

This time Rue interrupted. "I know I'll go on living, and she'll die. But even so..." He looked down at the ground, speaking softly. "I'd rather have her live the rest of the life that Doll Master stole from her, even if all of it won't be with me."

Askaram looked at him steadily for a long moment. Rue felt her eyes boring into his head. The golden lenses seemed to click and rotate in place.

"All right." She said, settling back into her chair. "I will grant your wish, Rue." She closed her eyes. "Now take Timshel, and fulfill your dream."

Rue was confused. "Take...Timshel?"

"Put that sword of yours to use, Rue." Askaram said, her eyes still closed. "Timshel is in the safest place I could think of -- inside me."

Rue jumped, shocked. "WHAT?!"

"Slice me open. You'll find Timshel inside."

Rue could not believe what he was hearing. His sword shook slightly, as did his hands. "I...isn't there any way for me to..."

"No." Askaram settled in her chair. Her black gown rustled. "It's the only way. Go to it."

Rue couldn't get himself to lift his blade. "I can't do it." He whispered to himself. "I can't do it."

"I can't do it." He said out aloud. Askaram opened her eyes.

"Excuse me?" She asked.

Rue shook his head furiously. "I can't do it. Even if it's the only way to bring Claire back..." He looked up, meeting Askaram's brilliant golden eyes. "I don't want to do it at the cost of someone else's life. It's just not right."

_"And Claire would never forgive me for it."_ Rue added to himself.

Askaram tilted her head. "Interesting." She said. "I would have thought..." She tilted her head the other way. "How very interesting. Step forward, Rue."

Rue did so, looking up at Askaram. She leaned forward and touched one pale fingertip to the life crystal sparkling on his forehead. Rue closed his eyes as a sudden feeling of weight pressed down upon him.

A ghostly form wafted out of Rue's back and Askaram looked up to meet the clear brown eyes of Claire. The spirit girl looked back at her.

"So you're Claire." Askaram murmured. Her golden eyes were soft. "I can see why Rue went to the ends of the earth for you. You're a lucky girl."

She stood up, her black gown falling in perfect folds around her. Reaching out with her other hand, she touched the ghostly form of Claire's forehead.

Power washed over Claire's ghost form in golden waves, pulsing out from Askaram's fingertips in warm, glittering showers. Like a vessel being filled, Claire's ghostly form was poured full of Askaram's golden power, shimmering until it looked like her entire form was filled with light. The smooth inside of the cavern reflected the lights brilliantly, amplifying it and making it shine like the inside of the sun-

The light dimmed down, darkening or paling and eventually binding down, wrapping into Claire's skin and clothes until she stood on the smooth black floor of the cavern, healthy and whole.

Askaram lifted her hand from Claire's forehead and sank back into her chair with a heavy sigh. Lines suddenly creased her once perfect skin, sagging her ivory flesh until it was almost translucent. She closed her eyes and eyelashes slipped from her lids as though they were black tears. Her other hand slipped from Rue's life crystal and he opened his eyes, blinking.

"Is it done?" He asked, looking at Askaram. He jumped, seeing the sudden changes. "Askaram!"

"Rue?"

He froze at the sound of that voice-a voice like cool mountain breezes and silver bells. Slowly Rue turned.  
Claire looked back at him. Her brown eyes were as warm as ever, her smile just as gentle. Rue dropped his weapon and ran to her.

"CLAIRE!"

She 'oofed' softly as he threw his arms around her, burying his head against her shoulder. She was solid, she was real...His chest tightened, making a strangled sob tear its way from his throat. Tears slipped down from his eyes, rolling down Claire's dress.

"Rue, what's wrong?" Claire whispered, stroking his hair. "It's all right..."

Askaram took a deep breath and sat up, opening her eyes. Although her flesh had faded, her eyes were still as brilliant as ever.

"Rue." She spoke softly.

Rue lifted his head, turning to face Askaram. The tracks of tears shone brightly on his face.

"Rue, do you remember..." Askaram took a deep breath. "What I said about you...dying?"

"That I wouldn't die naturally." Rue said softly. Claire looked up at him, troubled.

"That's...right." Askaram whispered. She took another deep breath. Rue could see her laboring to breathe. "Rue...I...lied."

Rue didn't understand. "What?"

Askaram smiled an old, tired smile. "Rue-you're crying."

He touched his face, startled when Claire did the same, her fingertips brushing gently against his. "I..." He stammered, suddenly embarrassed. "I guess so."

"Dolls don't cry, Rue." Askaram whispered. "Only humans do." She laughed softly. "Valen...really didn't do anything in halves...not even his dolls..."

Rue stared at Askaram. "What do you mean? Are you saying that I'm..."

"Alive? I think so." Askaram motioned weakly with one hand. "Come here, Rue."

Rue looked at Claire-she let go of him, holding his hand to the very last as he stepped slowly toward the aging Aeon. Askaram pulled herself into a regal, upright sitting position and gently touched his forehead. Her hand was warm, and Rue felt a faint tingling on his head.

"Yes." Askaram breathed softly. "Yes, as I thought. You're alive. I feel that pulse of spirit in you." She laughed. "Imagine, a doll being human..."

"But why?" Rue asked, looking up at her. "Why did I suddenly change?"

"You didn't 'suddenly', Rue." Askaram looked at him steadily, pressing her fingertips into his head. "When you said you didn't want to kill me in order to bring Claire back, you made yourself human. Only a human would feel that way..."

Rue felt a wave of warmth wash through him and he gasped softly as Askaram's figure flickered, like a picture in a flame.

"You're human in mind and soul already," Askaram whispered as her figure began to fade. Her voice faded too, becoming so faint that Rue had to strain to listen to it. "All I'm giving you now is a body that will be the same..."

"I thought you didn't have enough power." Rue said softly, unable to look away from Askaram's golden eyes. Despite her fading figure, her eyes were brilliant still.

"You've inspired me." Askaram chuckled softly. Another wave of warmth washed over Rue, and Askaram disappeared entirely-except for her eyes. Two glowing discs of gold, they floated in the air, bobbing gently. But although her body was gone, her voice still remained. "Goodbye, Rue-live your 'happily ever after'..."

Then Askaram's eyes dimmed, dropped to the floor , and shattered into a million glittering pieces. Rue stared at the fine golden dust that had once been the golden-eyed Aeon.

"Rue?"

He turned around and saw Claire looking at him, her eyes wide and inquisitive. "Are you all right?" She asked.  
He smiled, weakly at first, and then with growing strength. "Yeah-I'm fine, Claire."

He walked up to her and hugged her tightly, reveling in the feel of her warm, wonderfully alive body in his arms. "I'm more than fine." He whispered.

- - - - -

A/N: Ahh, there you have it-the happy ending! Everything works out in the end! Now, will you read the sad part? Or will you leave that thread of fate unexplored?

- - - - -


	3. The Sad Ending

The Meaning of Rue

- - - - -

I own few things. If I owned Threads of Fate, I'd own a lot more.

- - - - -

The sad ending

- - - - -

"I can't." Rue whispered softly. "I can't." He lifted his head, looking at Askaram. "I can't choose." He whispered. "Life without Claire-I've hated it these past eight years. Either way I choose, I can't live with her..."

"That's right, Rue." Askaram said, nodding. "Staying the way you are-it's the closest you'll ever be to being with her. Her spirit is, after all, staying within you."

Rue bowed his head. _"But it's not the same..."_ He thought miserably. _"It's not the same..."_

Askaram leaned back, looking at Rue steadily. "So." She said softly. "Do you still want to use my powers?"

Rue shook his head. What was the point?

"Leave, then." Askaram said, waving him off with one slender hand. "I have no use for you, and you have no use for me. Don't waste any more of our time."

Rue nodded dumbly and turned to leave from the cavern. Behind him, Askaram's form turned black and melted into the floor.

- - - - -

Eight years...eight long years...

Rue stepped out of the dungeon and winced, covering his eyes with his hand. The late afternoon sun was shining brilliantly, glaring straight into his eyes.

Eight years...eight years of searching, only to arrive at a dead end.

"{Expletive} it!" Rue swore violently, slashing the air with his sword as a sudden fury filled him. His sword clanged against a stone, kicking up sparks.

"Why?!" He yelled at the sky. "Why does it have to be this way?!"

Enraged he attacked the ground, slamming his blade into it over and over again, hacking deep furrows in the dark brown earth. The sword bounced off a stone and jumped up to whack him in the face; Rue cursed again and dropped the sword -before dropping to his knees. He covered his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Claire..." He cried, shuddering as his chest tightened with pain. His voice was strangled and strange. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

_"You never should have died."_ He thought numbly._ "It was my fault then and it's my fault now-no matter what I do, you're going to die and I'm going to keep on living.  
"Claire, I don't want to live without you!"_

He rose shakily to his feet and picked up his sword from where it had fallen. Despite the hard wear of many years and its most recent, brutal thrashing, the blade was still intact, and still very sharp. Rue put the edge of the circular blade to his neck and closed his eyes.

"Hang on, Claire." He whispered softly. "I'm coming."

He thrust his head forward just as he punched the blade back -- the intention was to cut his own throat and to end his misery. But someone grabbed him by the arms and dragged him back.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing?!"

He opened his eyes, torn between fury and utter confusion-who was trying to stop him? To his horror and utter shock, it was none other than Mint.

"Wha-wha-wha..." He stammered, jumping back from her. "What are you doing here?!"

Eight years had gone by, and unlike Rue, Mint showed every sign of their passing. She had grown into a tall, imperious-looking woman, sleekly muscled and dangerous-looking. She wore an ankle-length version of her former adventuring outfit, her hair pulled back into two long pink ponytails that nearly dropped to the ground. Her red eyes looked positively murderous.

"What am I doing here?!" Mint repeated his question furiously. "What do you think? Just because I'm the co-queen of the East Heaven kingdom doesn't mean I've given up my dream!"

Rue couldn't believe it. "You're still planning for world domination?"

"Yeah!" She said with a firm nod of her head. "Since the Book of Cosmos went kaput, the East Heaven kingdom's been without a {relic} to back the royal family up! I'm not standing for that! Besides," She grinned evilly, "One {relic} for me means one {relic} closer to world domination!"

Rue blinked, unable to believe that after nearly ten years, she still had the same ambition. He felt a bitter twist of envy in his heart. If only he could be so determined...

Mint was still talking. "...except that Maya's not helping me, that means I've got to do it all by myself!" She cursed so vilely that Rue was stunned, and she shook her fists. "Can you believe that little snake?!"

Rue jumped as her ruby eyes snapped back to him. "But enough about me." She growled in a low, deadly tone. "What were you doing, Rue?"

Now that he was faced with his actions, Rue suddenly felt awkward and ashamed. "I..."

Mint wasn't in the mood for excuses. She whacked him soundly over the head with one clenched fist, something that she could do quite easily now that she stood almost a head taller than he did. "Are you stupid?" She demanded, her ruby eyes flashing. "Trying to kill yourself-you're disgracing the last gift Claire left for you!"

Rue didn't understand. "Last...gift?"

"Yeah!" Mint hit him again for good measure, striking him so hard that stars exploded in his vision. "Didn't she die trying to defend you?"

The memory of that awful night swamped Rue with a wave of overpowering guilt. "...yes..." He whispered, bowing his head.

"If you killed yourself, you'd be making her sacrifice worthless!" Mint snapped, putting her hands on her hips. "Is that what you want, to make her life worthless?"

"I want her life back! I want Claire back!" Rue cried, looking up at her.

Mint was not moved. "Then go find a {relic}, like you're supposed to!"

Rue shook his head miserably. "It won't work...Askaram's {relic} will bring her back to life, but she'll still die!"

"Askaram's {relic}?" Mint looked keenly at the dungeon entrance from which Rue had come. "So it's in there..."

"Yes." Rue nodded and motioned with one hand. "Go on-take it. I don't need-I can't use it."

Mint nearly ran for the entrance, but stopped herself. Since the five years from their parting, she had apparently become more mature.

"Rue, what do you mean 'she'll still die'?"

Rue felt his chest seizing up. Choking slightly, he said, "Askaram's {relic}- Timshel-it can bring Claire back to life. But Claire is human- she'll still die in the long run. And I..." He looked at Mint, smiling a little sadly. "You know, don't you? I'm not human."

"So what? You think she'll be afraid of your freakyness?" Mint asked, tilting her head.

Rue laughed at Mint's bluntness but was embarrassed to hear a watery chuckle spill out from between his lips. "Claire...already knew what I was. But I..." He looked up at Mint. "Mint, I'm going to live forever."

She looked very skeptical. "One good jump-kick to the head could fix that."

"I mean, I won't die unless I'm killed." Rue looked down at the ground. "I'll go on living a long time after Claire herself dies..."

"Oh." Mint went oddly silent. Rue didn't say any more.

Time passed by. A few long moments stretched out before Mint finally said, "I think you're being a wimp."

Rue looked up at her, stunned and not a little outraged. "Excuse me?!"

"You heard me!" Mint said loudly, stepping toward him. Pointing at him with a hand that was callused from years of fighting, she said, "Plenty of people die all over the world and leave their loved ones behind! Do you see the survivors committing suicide left and right?"

"No." Rue admitted.

"So what gives you the excuse?" Mint demanded. "Huh? Tell me that!"

Rue couldn't think of any real reason. What did give him the excuse? The more he thought about it, the more ashamed he felt of his behavior.

Mint continued her verbal assault. "And you know what, Rue? If you die, Claire dies with you. After all, she's alive in your heart and mind, isn't she?"

Rue blinked-was she? For eight years he had thought of nothing else, no one else...if he closed his eyes he could still see her smiling at him, could hear her talking to him...

"If you die, who's going to remember her?" Mint asked. "I sure as hell won't. And I don't think anybody else will, either."

Mint hesitated, and then put a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, surprised. It was the first time they had ever physically touched. "Rue." She said softly. "You're the only one who can keep Claire alive. Don't kill her by killing yourself, all right? You can't give up. Never give up."

Rue stared at Mint as though he had never seen before. In actuality, a similar scene from the past was flashing before his eyes.

_"Never give up!" _She had said. _"Never give up!"_

"I won't." Rue said softly. "I...won't give up."

Mint patted him solidly on the shoulder. "Good!" She turned back toward the cave mouth and suddenly danced, clapping her hands together. "Ooh, I'm so excited! Finally I'll get my hands on a {relic}!"

Rue watched her dance, stunned and amused that she was still so...so... "Mint." He called softly.

"Huh?" She glanced over her shoulder.

"Thank you." He said, smiling a little at her. "For-"

In vintage Mint fashion, she totally ignored him. "Whatever, Rue! Just don't do something stupid!" She dashed for the cave mouth.

"Wait, Mint!"

She skidded to a stop, kicking up the sticks and dead leaves of the forest loam as she halted her forward dash. She turned around impatiently, pink pigtails flying.

"What?!" She demanded.

Rue shrugged, laughing slightly. "I...I don't know what to do. All my life I've been searching for a way to bring Claire back, and now that I can't..." Pain spasmed in his chest, but Rue knew he could deal with it. Everybody in the world had pain. "Mint, what do I do?"

"I don't know!" She snapped, turning back around to face the cave. "Go to Carona, or East Heaven kingdom, or something! There's got to be some way you can make yourself useful!" She looked over her shoulder one last time, her ruby eyes flashing. "You're not good for just one thing, you know!"

And with that, she dashed inside the cave. Rue could hear her singing faintly, "{Relic}, {relic}, here I come! Queen of the world Mint is coming!"

He chuckled, shaking his head-the chuckles grew louder and louder, finally bursting out of him in a great fountain of laughter. He laughed so hard that he fell down and didn't get up.

Yes, he decided, things could be painful. They would be painful. But he would live.

Rue sat up and got to his feet, dusting himself off. Yes, he would live.

And Claire would live too.

- - - - -

A/N: Rue is a word that means 'regret'. When I first looked at the game, I remember thinking 'what a sad name to give to a character'. And then I played the game and found out what a sad little boy Rue was. So very, very sad...

I do feel sorry for the dude. But man, talk about an obsession! You'd think he'd accept the fact that people die-everybody else in the world does.

The title has some special symbolism; Rue means regret, and also, Rue finds out what he wants to do for the rest of his life. He finds his own meaning. Deep, isn't it? Yeah...

Anyway, hope you enjoyed my shot at Threads of Fate fanfiction; on a happy note, I'd like to say that I typed all three parts of this in one day- one day! Woo ha ha! Who's the queen of the world? ME!

(Mint jump-kicks klepto_maniac0 in the head)

OW! Until next time, readers...see ya!

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